Education & Colleges

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May 15, 2013 – The Department of Mass Communications at Savannah State University has earned re-accreditation from the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), the agency responsible for the evaluation of professional journalism and mass communications programs in colleges and universities across the United States.

The council announced the re-accreditation decision Friday, May 3, following a 23-0 vote at its annual spring meeting.  The SSU mass communications department first earned accreditation in 2007 after successfully completing a rigorous self-study, external evaluation and site visits that determined the program met ACEJMC requirements in nine standards: mission and governance; curriculum and instruction; diversity and inclusiveness; full-time and part-time faculty; scholarship; student services; resources, facilities and equipment; professional and public service; and assessment of learning outcomes.

“The ACEJMC reviewers recognized that our faculty have succeeded in integrating several approaches of mass communication into a coherent curriculum that educates students for practice in the evolving new media,” said Reynold Verret, Ph.D., provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at SSU.

The Department of Mass Communications at Savannah State is one of only two programs in the state of Georgia to earn ACEJMC accreditation, which is held by just 111 programs nationwide.  Mass communications is one of the top five majors at SSU, with students selecting from concentrations in print journalism, radio and television and public relations and advertising.  The department will undergo the re-accreditation process again in 2018-19 in accordance with ACEJMC policy that requires accreditation be reviewed every six years.

NEWS - Education & Colleges

May 13, 2013 – At its May 3 meeting, the Technical College of the Lowcountry Area Commission formally accepted the resignation of College President Dr. Thomas C. Leitzel. The commission then appointed Dr. Gina Mounfield as interim president effective June 1 until a permanent selection is made.

Leitzel recently accepted the presidency at South Florida State College and will leave TCL at the end of the month.

Mounfield has served as the TCL Vice President for Academic Affairs since 2007. Prior to TCL, she was the Vice President for Career Programs at Midlands Technical College in Columbia, S.C. Mounfield has more than 30 years of higher education experience.

The commission also began preparation for the presidential search that will be conducted with the assistance of the S.C. Technical College System Office.

NEWS - Education & Colleges

May 8, 2013 — Savannah State University is one of 15 American colleges and universities participating in an Institute of International Education (IIE) trip to Brazil this week to meet with potential partner campuses and learn more about Brazilian higher education.

Emmanuel Naniuzeyi, Ph.D., associate professor of political science and director of the International Education Center, will represent Savannah State in the IIE delegation, which left May 5 for Sao Paulo and will return to the United States on Friday.  The group will visit public and private institutions of higher education in the cities of Sao Paulo, Campinas, Recife, Salvador and Brasilia and meet with officials from the Fulbright Commission and other international organizations, including Brazil’s Ministry of Education and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development.  The delegation will also participate in high-level policy events, such as a roundtable discussion on U.S.-Brazil partnerships featuring leaders from colleges and universities across the country.

An independent, non-profit organization, IIE has a network of more than 20 offices worldwide and more than 1,000 member institutions.  The institute provides advising and counseling on international education and opportunities abroad and conducts policy research and program evaluations.  This trip is part of the organization’s year-long International Academic Partnership Program (IAPP) focusing on Brazil.  The IAPP launched in 2009 to help U.S. colleges and universities develop strategic plans for partnering with different countries.

NEWS - Education & Colleges

May 6, 2013 – Savannah Technical College Historic Preservation students recently completed 35 cast metal finials for the Smithsonian Institution.

Students in the college’s Advanced Preservation Skills class created finials or spear point replacements for damaged window grilles, originally installed in 1881 at the Smithsonian Institute’s Arts and Industries Building.

To create the spear points the students made 14 sand molds, mixing sand with resins to harden the mold. Students used a template made by Enberg Mold and Tool in Kingsland, Ga. The class poured the steel into molds at Carolina Metal Casting in Hardeeville, S.C. Then, students removed extra metal, known as gating, from the pieces. Finally students filed them down and painted them with a rust inhibiting primer.

The college was invited to assist with this project by a Smithsonian representative, who visited the Savannah campus last year for the Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) Stained Glass window workshop. Sharon C. Park, the Smithsonian Institution’s associate director for architectural history and historic preservation office of planning and project management, was impressed with Savannah Tech’s students’ metalwork for fencing.

“The historic preservation profession needs programs such as the one at Savannah Technical College that can train the next generation of crafts persons,” said Park. “The Smithsonian was pleased to have the metal spear points made by the students to help us restore our 1881 National Historic Landmark Arts & Industries Building.”

This was one of the three projects for the Advanced Preservation Skills class this semester. Students also built a dry-stone wall on campus and created stained glass ornaments and metal hooks for a college fundraising event.

Savannah Tech has the only public hands-on preservation program in the state. The program has gained international recognition and has contributed to a number of community-based preservation projects in the surrounding communities. The program is the cornerstone of new instructional programs in Green Building Technology, which focuses on a comprehensive view of systems and efficiencies in construction.

NEWS - Education & Colleges

May 3, 2013 – South University announced today that Curtis Jones, Ph.D., R.Ph., has been appointed Dean of the School of Pharmacy and will oversee pharmacy programs in Georgia and South Carolina. As Dean of the School of Pharmacy, Dr. Jones reports to the South University Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Dr. Steven Yoho.

Dr. Jones has been with the School of Pharmacy since 2003 when he was appointed Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and he served in that capacity until 2007. During that period he also continued research focusing on drug delivery to brain tumors, hemostasis, and more recently in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic wounds.  In 2007, Dr. Jones was promoted to Associate Dean for Administration and Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and most recently served as the Campus Dean for the School of Pharmacy in Savannah, overseeing daily operations in administration and academic affairs for the School.

“Dr. Jones brings the highest qualities to the position of Dean of the School of Pharmacy,” said Dr. Yoho. “He is a well known researcher with the expertise, knowledge and scientific curiosity to advance his field, he is an experienced educator who consistently seeks to improve the level of curriculum and instruction and he is a proven leader within the pharmacy sector who is focused on providing his students with excellence in education that will prepare them for a life of learning and growth.”

Dr. Jones is a graduate of the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Jones has more than 22 years of experience as a clinical pharmacist, development scientist in the pharmaceutical industry and pharmacy educator. He holds multiple patents and has published extensively in the areas of chronic wound care and drug delivery. Dr. Jones is a 2011 graduate of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Academic Leadership Fellows Program.

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April 29, 2013 – At the Technical College System of Georgia 2013 Leadership Summit, Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law legislation that will lower the GPA requirement for the HOPE Grant, which goes to students in the technical college system. By expanding access to the HOPE Grant, HB 372 will strengthen the state’s workforce development efforts.

“We need more college or technical college degrees in order to attract  and fill the jobs of tomorrow,” Deal said. “This additional benefit will provide Georgians with greater access to school at a relatively small cost to the state.”

This bill will drop the GPA requirement for the HOPE Grant back to a 2.0 after it increased to 3.0 two years ago for budgetary reasons. Recent growth in Lottery revenues will cover the additional $5 million to $8 million this expansion will cost. In the first six months of this fiscal year, deposits were up $32 million, a 7.6 percent increase over the same period the year before.

“In recent years, Georgia has seen a large drop in technical college enrollment – much larger than in our University System,” Deal said. “For some students enrolled in a technical school, the loss of scholarship money put higher education out of reach. This law will provide greater access to school and to a brighter career for thousands of Georgians.”

NEWS - Education & Colleges

April 24, 2013 – University System of Georgia Regent Larry R. Ellis will deliver the keynote address to more than 700 candidates for graduation at Armstrong Atlantic State University’s Spring 2013 commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 4 at the Savannah Civic Center’s Martin Luther King Jr. Arena. The processional begins at 9:45, and the ceremony begins at 10 a.m.

General (retired) Larry Ellis is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlanta, Georgia-based Ellis Services and Solutions Enterprises (ESSE). Since 2004, ESSE has been a services and solutions provider to the military and corporate sectors with security surveillance, fire alarm, and healthcare technology requirements.

After retiring from the Army, Ellis joined the Board of Directors of Point Blank Solutions and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Currently, he serves as a director on the boards of the Armed Forces Benefit Association and the Georgia Regents’ Health System. He was appointed to the University System of Georgia Board of Regents by Gov. Sonny Perdue and has been appointed to the Board of Regents for Morgan State University in Maryland.

Ellis served in the United States Army for more than 35 years, with nearly half his service assigned overseas. He commanded combat arms units at every echelon of the Army before retiring in 2004 as the Commander, Army Forces Command. He served in senior command and staff positions at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., where he oversaw multi-year programs and budgets in support of national strategic objectives as the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans and Training. He also served with the United Nations Command in South Korea, the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, and the U.S. European Command in Germany and the Balkans.

Ellis’ military awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, Korean Defense Service Medal, Korean Cheonsu Medal, NATO Medal, German Armed Honor Gold Cross, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Other honors include an Honorary Doctor of Laws, Honorary Master of Strategic Studies, the Distinguished Alumni Service Award, the NAACP National Service Award, and the ROCK of the Year Award. Ellis earned an undergraduate degree from Morgan State University and a graduate degree from Indiana University. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army War College.

Ellis is married to the former Jean Williams of Baltimore, Md. They have two adult daughters.

Degrees will be conferred to approximately 750 candidates representing the university’s College of Education, College of Health Professions, College of Liberal Arts and College of Science and Technology. The Armstrong Wind Ensemble, conducted by Mark B. Johnson, will provide the musical accompaniment. Emily Grundstad-Hall and Carol Benton will lead the audience in the singing of the national anthem and the university alma mater.

NEWS - Education & Colleges

April 17, 2013 — Grandbridge Real Estate Capital recently closed an $11,250,000 first mortgage loan secured by University Village at Southern, a 532-unit student housing property in Statesboro, Ga., home of Georgia Southern University. This refinance transaction was originated by Raleigh-based Robert Hukill. Funding for the loan was provided through Freddie Mac.

About Grandbridge Real Estate Capital LLC
Charlotte, N.C.-based Grandbridge, a subsidiary of Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB&T), has a broad investor base that includes insurance companies, CMBS investors, pension fund advisors, commercial banks and capital markets investors, as well as its proprietary lending platform, BB&T Real Estate Funding.

The company is a Freddie Mac Program Plus® Seller/Servicer, Fannie Mae Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS®) lender and an approved FHA MAP and LEAN healthcare lender. Grandbridge arranges permanent commercial and multifamily real estate loans; services loan portfolios; and provides asset and portfolio management, as well as real estate brokerage services. Grandbridge has a current servicing portfolio of almost $30 billion and represents approximately 100 capital providers. More information about the company is available at www.grandbridge.com.

About BB&T
As of Dec. 31, 2012, BB&T is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the U.S. with $183.9 billion in assets and market capitalization of $20.4 billion. Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., the company operates 1,832 financial centers in 12 states and Washington, D.C., and offers a full range of consumer and commercial banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage and insurance products and services. More information about BB&T and its full line of products and services is available at www.BBT.com.